Myrnin's Interest
by Hallie Storm
Summary: Set in the future ten years after book 14. Myrnin goes to Claire with a proposal.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Claire woke to the sound of tapping. Like a persistent bird was pecking at her window. She blinked into darkness, felt across the bed to the cold spot where Shane should be. Pain wrapped around her heart as the realisation hit her - he was gone, he'd never lay next to her again, never see their little girl grow up. The tapping continued, drawing her thoughts, at least momentarily, away from the pain in her chest.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and Claire saw the outline of a figure at her window. She should have been frightened, or at least startled, but that would require an emotion other than heart break, and she just didn't have anything else in her. She flicked on the lamp, blinked until the light brought the pale face into focus.

"What do you want?" She asks quietly.

"Can I come in?"

"If I say no, will you go away?"

"Afraid not."

She sighs, "very well, come in Myrim."

The widow slides up and he steps in, one bunny slipper after the other, like he'd been floating on air, and not precariously balanced on a slim branch.

"I'm sorry for your lose." He says quietly.

Claire's eyes light up in surprise and quickly fill with tears. She dabs at them with a tissue from the box next to her bed. "Thank you Myrim. That means a lot, coming from you."

He approaches and sits on the edge of the bed next to her. "I never liked him. He was never good enough for you." Claire cracks a grin and the beginnings of a laugh escape her lips.

"That's ok, he didn't much care for you either."

"Yes, but I feel that was due to our common… interest, rather than anything to do with my personality. I'm quite charming, you know." Again Claire smiles. "Speaking of which, I wanted to talk to you about it."

"Your charming personality?"

"No, my interest."

Claire tenses, she didn't need one of his crazy schemes right now. "Myrnin, I just buried my husband." She says quietly.

"I know, that's why I have to talk to you now."

She sighs, blows her nose, and nods. Sometimes it's just easier when it comes to Myrnin, to let him have his crazy five minutes and then try to reason with him. Although, it was odd for him to remain as calm as he was, for as long as he had. She was half expecting him to break out into a rant at any minute.

"You're a widow and a single mother. It is not a very fitting position for a respectable young lady."

"Oh Myrnin, you're thinking of the wrong century." She says softly.

"Nonsense, in no time is it a fitting situation for a lady to be in."

She shrugs, he had a point there. "Is this the part where you tell me you've built a time machine and we can go back and move Shane out of the way of the drunk driver?" It had been two weeks since the accident yet she still couldn't believe it. Not that Shane had died, short life spans come with the town, but the way he had died. He'd told her once that he'd always thought that it would be a vampire that killed him. It made sense giving how badly he managed to piss them off over the years. So when she'd gotten the call, been told what had happened, she didn't believe it at first. Her first reaction, when she'd come too from the initial shock, was that it was some kind of cover up. Who could blame her in a town like Morganville. But it wasn't. It was a human affair. Despite Amelie's promise of change, a promise that has been kept for years now, it didn't mean that all of Morganville's problems had completely gone away. Alcohol was much of the town's inhabitants way of coping with years of vampire oppression, and now, it was their way of coping with past oppression.

He pauses, "A time machine… you know I've often thought that the math is possible, the problem comes when you…"

"Myrnin, as much as I enjoy our chats, it is late."

"Yes… yes of course, to the point." He stands and flourishes out his 19th century coat. He would actually look really smart if he hadn't matched it with orange shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. Claire never did understand how a man so smart, couldn't seem to grasp the concept of matching colours. He drops to one knee and produces a small black box. Claire's eyebrows furrow in caution. Half suspecting him to be about to present her with one of his pet insects, she clutches her duvet tighter. His pale long fingers open the lid and to her utter amazement, her eyes fall upon an enormous diamond.

"My dear, I have wanted to present you with this since you first shouted me down in my lab. You were so brave, just a flint of a girl, standing up to a crazed vampire. I will be a good husband Claire. I will raise your daughter as if she were my own…"

"Please stop." She gasps through tears.

"I am not expecting an answer from you just yet." He stands and places the ring box on her bedside cabinet. I wish merely to make my intentions clear. I have waited a decade for you Claire, a thousand more would mean nothing if you were at the end of it." He returns to the window and slides it open. "As much as it kills me, to see you human, vulnerable, breakable, I would not change you, not without your permission. As long as you are mine, I will protect you."

"Myrnin, the only person I need protection from, is you."

A smile breaks out on his face, "Claire, you've always been able to control me, even at when I was not quite myself." He says tapping his temple. He had been losing his mind due to a sickness that was attacking all of the vampires, when they had first met. His moods would change faster than the wind, from manic to real, heart breaking tears. "Don't you see? I'm better with you."

"I love Shane." She says matter of factly.

He nods. "I'll wait, as long as it takes."

He vanishes out of the window before Claire can even think of a reply.

_I will continue upon request._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was the sound of heavy boots stomping across the hardwood floor, that drew Claire's attention to her bedroom door. To the light that had risen and cast itself across her bedspread, floor. She watched the door knob as it rattled and turned, without the slightest of concerns, even though she knew Alyssa wasn't at home, that she'd spent the night over at the Glass House.

"Good morning sunshine! I have coffee!" Eve stampeded into the room like she would have done when they'd all lived together. The sight of her and her blazen attitude, tugged the slightest of smiles from Claire's lips.

"How's Alyssa?"

Eve's happiness wavered. "She's just like her mother! Won't let it all out, just buries her nose in a book!" Claire opened her hands; showed empty, book free, palms. "Yeah well, the fact you're handling it so well is totally creeping me out! I balled my eyes out for days when we first heard and you…"

"You think I don't care?"

"Of course not. I just think you're keeping it all on the inside. You need to let it out. This is Morganville, 'inside stuff' rots."

"It doesn't feel real." Said Claire, gazing off into space. "I keep thinking he'll walk in any minute. That I'll smell his chili cooking, hear his laugh." Eve laced her fingers with her friend's and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I just, I still don't believe it. He can't be dead, he just can't be. Not like that, not in this town."

"You still think the Vamps are hiding something?"

Claire's eyes fixed sharply to hers, "would you put it past them?" She studied her face intently. Ignoring the thick white makeup, blood red lips and heavy eyeliner.

"Ten years ago no, but things are different now. They've changed Claire, they really have."

Claire frowned. "Ten years of good behavior out of centuries of bad, is no reason to trust them."

"You sound like Shane. He never really believed they could change." Eve said on a sigh. "But they aren't responsible for what happened to him. Claire, they had nothing to do with it."

"Yet I can't shake the feeling that he's not really gone. That none of this is real."

Eve adjusted her black mini skirt, making sure the little skulls on the bottom lined up the way she liked. "Get yourself dressed and meet me downstairs." She ordered.

"Why?"

"Because I'm making you eggs, which you are going to eat and then, then we're going to see Oliver."

"Oliver darling!" Crooned Eve as she threw herself into his arms, dotting his cheeks with kisses. The sight of them so close still gave Claire the creeps, even though they'd been like it for nearly a decade now. Ever since Oliver had saved a heavily pregnant Eve, from dying in child birth. She'd even named her son after him. Now she and Michael both regarded Oliver as family.

"Come, sit, I'll be with you in just a minute."

The girls did as instructed, taking a seat in the shaded area of Common Grounds. It hadn't changed much over the years. Eve had redecorated the place much to Oliver's dismay, but on the whole, it still looked like it did when Claire had first walked in. It wasn't the only thing that still looked the same - Oliver. Claire knew that vampires didn't age, that they were trapped at the age they first died at forever, and yet it still surprised her. Every time she saw one of them, she was cast back to her early years in this town, until she'd catch her reflection, saw the laughter lines that had formed around her eyes. She'd once thought of it as kind of sad, that they were trapped, never able to move forwards. But now she could understand the appeal of it. She didn't want to move forward, not without Shane.

"Here, you look like you need this." Oliver said, placing a cup in front of her. She took a sip and was hit by steamed milk, spiced coco and hot peppers. He was right, she did need it. He placed a cappuccino in front of Eve before sitting. He still donned the worn out jeans, old t-shirts, and still kept his hair tied back in a low pony tail. Nothing about him had changed, he even ducked his tea bag the same, watching it critically before nodding in satisfaction.

"You're hoping I have something to make it better with."

"Do you? Oliver, please, if there's anything you know."

"I know that Shane Collins was hit and killed by a drunk driver. I know that said driver, has pleaded guilty to the charge, and will be found as such when he is tried." Claire sat back like the air had been knocked out of her. She'd been told that the driver was pretty banged up and was in the hospital. But she hadn't actually given any thought as whether he had pleaded guilty or not. She realised as she sat there, watching her friend sitting with a vampire, looking so relaxed, so happy, so… trusting, that it was because she never really thought he was guilty. In her mind, it was the Vampires who were to blame.

"I'll get it!" Called Alyssa, running for the phone. She knew who it would be. They both knew it could only be one person. Only one person ever called on the land line. It was the only reason Claire kept it.

"Hi Gran!"

Claire turned back to the novel in her hands. Back to looking at words that had become strangers. To letters she could no longer make sense of. She turned the page but it made no difference. Her earlier conversation with Oliver weighed heavily on her mind. She knew he was right, that Shane had been killed in an accident. But she couldn't let go of the feeling that there was more to it. That life in Morganville, was never that cut and dry, that there was always something more sinister at work.

"Okay, sure Gran. Mom, Granny wants to talk to you."

She rose from her chair like a puppet on a string, no thought, just movement. "Hello?"

"Darling! Are you alright?"

Claire was starting to hate that question. It was such a stupid question. No one actually wanted to know the real answer. If she was honest, and said no, her mother would just sigh and compare Shane's death to that of her father's. But it was nothing like her father's. He died in his sleep. He died peacefully, years after outliving the doctor's prognosis. Shane's life was ripped from him. Stolen in a wash of blood and pain.

"Why, what is it?" Claire asked, choosing not to lie to her mother.

"That strange man came by. The one you used to work for…"

Claire's eyes widened. Even though she could hear that her mother was fine - well in fact - a cold feeling descended. "What did he want?"

"It was the most peculiar of things sweetheart, he asked me for your hand in marriage. Said that although it wasn't needed, with your father being dead, he felt he should ask me. I was really quite taken with the young man."

"Young man! Mom, he's an ancient! He doesn't even know how old he is!"

"There's no need to get upset dear."

"No need to get upset…"

"Well I didn't say yes to the nice young man." Claire rolled her eyes. "I told him that you were always too head strong to listen to your mother."

"Mom…" she groaned.

"Well it's true! But he makes a good case sweetie."

"Oh does he?" Claire could imagine it now. That was the thing about Myrnin, in a way he was like the world, great, until he was awful.

"… and his accent, just so charming dear. It's like he sings his words. I'm not saying you should rush into anything, but maybe just think…"

"Mom!" Claire cried in frustration, tears pricking at her eyes. She suddenly felt like she was sixteen again. "Mom, I gotta go. I love you." She put the phone down, turned away from the questioning look on her daughter's face, and went back, to looking at pages full of words that she could no longer make sense of.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Claire watched as she took her time, delicately tapping the teaspoon on the side of the cup. Taking far too much time and too much consideration in her movements. She supposed that it was because there was little else to do. What is the point in rushing such things when you're immortal? Claire assumed that Amelie's critical eye - as she watched the tea blooming in her china cup - was a habit she'd picked up from Olivier.

"The service was lovely. I do believe you honored him well."

"Thank you." Claire had spotted Amelie at the back of the church, but didn't have the energy or the inclination to approach her. Instead she'd sat, with a numbness that can only be caused by a gaping hole in the middle of your chest, as the funeral commenced. It had become custom, in recent years, to cremate rather than to bury, but Claire couldn't do it. She couldn't let go of the notion that there maybe a way to bring him back. After all, she herself had come back from death. A shiver ran up her spine at the thought of Shane lying motionless in a coffin. She wondered if he was cold, under the earth, but she supposed not, nothing gets too cold in the desert.

"Are you ready to return to your position?"

"No, yes." She shook her head in confusion, blinking away the thought of Shane's coffin.

"Perhaps a little longer," Amelie suggested.

"Yes, perhaps a bit more time at home…" she trails off. No amount of time at home will bring him back. Nothing will bring him back. So how was she supposed to get better?

"I have found, over my many years, from the many dear ones that I have had to loose, distraction is always the best form of medicine." Claire's mind flashed back to a time where she had once come across Amelie, kneeling at the graveside of Sam - the man she loved - trying to take her own life. But Claire didn't have that luxury, she didn't have the choice to escape, to chase after him, she had Alyssa, and nothing would take her away from her daughter. "You have often spoken fondly to me of your position, perhaps it would be wise to return?"

"I do miss teaching," Claire said, thinking of her lecture theater. She had studied hard over the years, and without the constant drama of vampire emergency's cropping up, she'd been able to graduate, completed her doctorate, her phd, and take up a teaching position at the university. She'd done it mostly without Vampire interference, but not completely. Claire had always known that Amelie would never let her completely go, that she would always stake a claim on her, but she was grateful that all it amounted to was teaching a night class for Vampires. Amelie's desire to preserve the knowledge Myrnin had accumulated over the years had not dissipated, but branched out. She no longer felt that only one trusted person should be taught. Over the years she worked with Myrnin to sought through the Vampires, to test them, to push them, until they finally selected the ten individuals with the most potential, and signed them up for Classes. Mostly Claire enjoyed her night class. Although there were times where she found it difficult reasoning with a room full of vampires who insisted they were right.

"Myrnin has found it somewhat challenging without you."

Claire raised her eyebrows. "You mean he's actually been teaching the class?"

Amelie raised her china cup to her lips, but her smile still showed in her eyes. "As I said, he is finding it challenging without you."

"Amelie, you don't think someone in the class would have had anything to do with Shane's death do you?"

"Of course not, Shane was killed in an accident."

"But what if it wasn't an accident. What if one of the vampires I teach did it to try and get out of the class?"

"Come now little Claire, you are much smarter than this."

"You're right, they'd just kill me." Claire sighed and glanced at her watch. "I should go, Alyssa will be finishing school soon."

"Claire, it would be prudent for you to remember that I do want my class taught." Claire stood very slowly. There was no mistaking the meaning behind Amelie's words. The town may have found a certain degree of freedom over the years but they were ultimately at her mercy. They would never really be free - Claire would never really be free. Claire nodded; not trusting herself to be able to speak without screaming, and hurried out of Amelie's office.

Claire moved around the kitchen with her shoulders hunched and her head down. Her earlier conversation with Amelia had left her feeling trapped and hopeless. Nothing had changed, not really. Ten years of them acting nice, acting like humans matter, was just a lie. Just a way of keeping them quite, keeping control. It dawned on Claire as she drove across town to the high school just how stupid she'd been. She'd totally bought into it, the change, the new Morganville. She'd spent years arguing with Shane, telling him he was paranoid, that those days are over. She'd give anything now to be able to fold herself into his arms, to bury her head in his chest and tell him he was right. He'd want her to explain, and she'd have to tell him that it wasn't what Amelia had said that had made her suddenly see through the lies, the propaganda, it was the way she said it. Claire lifted the lid off of the pasta she was cooking just in time to stop the water from boiling over. Shane would have understood what she'd meant. He wouldn't have needed further explanation, but Eve and Michael would. They wouldn't believe her, not now, not after ten years of peace - freedom. They'd think she was losing it, put it down to stress. Claire emptied the cooked pasta onto the three plates while she pondered what to do. She was just adding the sauce when she froze, arm extended halfway towards the first plate - Shane's plate. She wasn't thinking about what she was doing, her body had been running on autopilot. Claire dropped the saucepan suddenly, hot sauce splashed up, dotting her white t-shirt in little red spots. Three plates, she'd been about to serve three plates. A heavy pounding on the door had her sloshing sauce over the side of the pan. "I'll get it!" She yelled not wanting Alyssa to answer it. The pounding continued despite Claire yelling that she was coming. The sun still shone in the sky so she didn't bother to check the peep hole, she just swung the door open. The first thing Claire saw was fury. It shone through stark blue eyes, bright pink lip gloss, and in the slap that greeted her. Claire wavered on her feet but remained upright. Her face contorted momentarily with pain, but the pain was short lived and soon gave way to anger. "Monica." Claire growled.

"What the hell are you doing!" Monica screamed. Her whole body shook with frustration and Claire saw tears shine in her eyes. The sight of Monica so vulnerable gave her pause.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, what are you doing? About Shane dumb ass!"

"Monica, I think you've had one too many." She said getting a waft of alcohol on her breath and noting the sideways parking Monica had managed on her front lawn.

"I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius!" Monica barked barging past Claire and into the house. "How hard is it to see a cover up? Especially one so ridiculous! A drunk driver, please! This is Collins we're talking about! Shane's a fighter! Nothing can kill him, believe me, I know," she muttered.

"Monica… Jameson, is it now?" Monica had taken to collecting husbands once she'd hit her thirties.

"Riley."

"Oh, congratulations."

"Yeah yeah."

"Shane died in an accident. He was hit by a drunk driver at 12:03. He was killed instantly." Claire saw the way Monica bit her bottom lip, saw the shuddering of her shoulders. "There was nothing anyone could do. He's gone. He is never coming back." Monica nodded slowly, like she'd needed to hear it from Claire, she couldn't believe it from anyone else.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, with what sounded like genuine emotion.

"Monica, would you like to stay for dinner?" Claire asked, feeling something like relief go through her. She'd said the words like she'd done a thousand times, only now she'd said them as words of comfort for another, and not as a reminder of what she had lost.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It had been a long time since Claire had stepped foot in Morganville's police station. Last time she was here she'd been locked in the cells, accused of a murder Myrnin, had committed. Claire sighed, Myrnin. He had not forgotten his proposal like she'd initially thought he would. Over the years he had proved himself to be fleeting in his interests, and Claire had hoped this would be the same, that it would stop after his visit to her mother's house - it had not stopped. Claire had woken this morning to find 33 dozens of red roses, littered on her front porch. She knew instantly they were from him, not because he'd left a card, but because she knew how much he liked the number 33. She'd supposed she should be grateful he was trying to be more traditional in his attempt to woo her. She didn't put it past him to do something awful, like leave her a collection of insects that he liked.

"Claire," called Chief Moses, "thank you for coming."

"Of course Hannah, what's this about?" She asked, coming to a stop outside Hannah's office.

"I'm really sorry to have to tell you this Claire, it seems like all I do is bring you bad news, but Monica's gotten it into her thick skull that Shane's been made into a vampire. I've tried reasoning with her, but you know what she's like. She's convinced it can be done, I've told her it's impossible; no human can be made into a vampire…"

"Wait, what?"

"She's tried to dig him up."

"She did what!"

"I'm really sorry Claire. She's made quite a bit of mess but don't worry, it was called in before she could get too deep. She hasn't done any lasting damage."

Claire turned away and hurried for the exit, calling over her shoulder, "I gotta go!"

"She got pretty deep." Claire said, surveying the dirt pilled up at her husband's grave. Morganville's graveyard was a very pretty place. Its luscious green grass was watered several times a day, preventing the dessert heat from drying it out.

"Jesus Claire! You scared the life out of me!"

"Sorry. I had to see what she'd done."

"I was hoping to get this mess cleaned up before you heard." He plowed his shovel into the ground, hard enough to make it stand upright, and ran a hand through his messy, sweat soaked, blond hair. Claire noticed how the muscles of his bare torso, flexed with his movements. Michael had made an effort to increase his physical strength after he'd settled back into being a human. Shane had told her at the time that it was because he wanted to be strong enough to protect Eve, should the treaty fail. It struck her now that he had remained committed to his gym sessions, despite his wife's claim of peace, and that said peace, would remain.

"Michael, there's something I have wanted to ask you."

"Oh, go ahead Claire, you know there's no secrets between us."

"Do you trust him?"

"Who?"

"Oliver."

Michael tensed, sending his abdominals into spasm, and she had her answer. "He's my son's godfather."

"Yeah, about that, you know how much that hurt Shane, don't you?"

He looked at her sharply, pain clear in his blue eyes. "Claire…" he sighed, "… you know what this town's like, how long can peace really last? I had to do something to ensure my son's safety. I'm not a vampire anymore, if something was to change, if…"

"Oh Michael, Shane would have understood, that's all he needed to hear you say. Why didn't you?"

"Eve, she really believes, she's totally bought into the town peace. I've never seen anything like it Claire, it's like she doesn't remember anything that came before!"

"Doesn't remember? Michael, the things Brandon did to her, it's not something you could just forget."

"Don't you think I know that!" He snapped. "She used to wake up at night screaming to get away from him. Just the very mention of his name would cause her to break out into a sweat. I know how he made her feel," he added quietly.

"So what changed?"

"I don't know, it wasn't like she just woke up one morning and decided to get over it, it was gradual. For a while I thought she was just doing really well in therapy, but as the years went by, I started to realise that she wasn't choosing to let go of painful memories, they just weren't there anymore."

Claire sank to the ground, crossed her legs and let her mind do the work. Something about Michael's words had triggered a thought, but she couldn't quite grasp it. She looked straight ahead, passed Michael's legs to Shane's gravestone. The inscription on the bottom read loving husband and father, kick ass fighter. They were the words he had wanted. Claire remembered that night like it happened yesterday. She had been heavily pregnant at the time and they'd sat down to talk about their future in Morganville…

"I'm telling you Claire, this peace won't last forever, we need to leave while we can."

"Shane, this is our home. We haven't even been in this house a year yet, I'm not giving up on it."

"It's not giving up, it's ensuring our future."

Claire reached across the table and took his hand in hers. It was a little rough against her soft skin, a result of his job in construction, but it was Shane, and his touch would always give her shivers. "You know she'd never let me go," she whispered.

"We could run, we'd go to someplace where they'd never find us."

"There is no such place, you know that. I won't… I can't put this family at risk," she said, rubbing her swollen stomach.

"Then we stay and take our chances."

"It's better than running Shane, she can have a life here, a good life, we'll keep her safe."

"You're damn right we will, with your brains and my kick ass fighting skills… hey, that's what I want on my gravestone!"

Claire shook her head in confusion, "what?"

"Kick ass fighter!"

She'd rolled her eyes at the time, but looking at the inscription now, she was glad she'd included it. Life in Morganville was hard, it sucked you in, took away everything you loved, and left you broken. You could either fight it, or drown in it. No-one knew that better than Shane. Morganville had taken everything from him, but he didn't give up, he kept fighting for the right thing, no matter the cost. It was one of the things Claire had not only loved about him, but admired.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Blisters had formed on the palms of Claire's hands. She pressed at them, let the pain sink in. It felt good, felt like reassurance, and she was proud to have them. She felt like they brought her a little bit closer to Shane. She'd sent Michael home, wanting to finish the work herself and think about their conversation. She taken her time relaying the dirt over Shane's grave - placed every shovel load down with the care and attention Shane deserved. When she had finished, she'd sat at the foot of his grave and cried. She cried because she missed him, felt lost without him. She cried for their daughter whom she feared would one day end up an orphan - because this was Morganville, and she didn't feel strong enough to last without Shane. He'd been her strength for twelve years. He'd had her back even when he thought she was wrong, he stuck by her, always pulled her to safety; taken the first blow. But now he was gone and she was alone, more alone than she'd ever felt in her life; so she cried for herself too.

Claire raised her fist, ready to knock, when the door swung open. She took a step into a cooling breeze that swept around her waist making her smile. That was the thing about the Glass house, it didn't matter if the occupants were home, the house was always pleased to see Claire. She shut the front door and took a moment to lean against the wall. "I've missed you too," she said on a sigh. Claire would have liked to remain in the Glass house. There was a time when Michael had considered it. Claire had a connection with the house that none of them could explain, or deny. It seemed right in Michael's eyes that Claire should be the one who owned it, but Eve wouldn't let him do it. It was their home, it had been in Michael's family for generations, and she wanted their children to grow up in that house. "Hi Claire, are you alright?" asked Micheal coming down the stairs to greet her.

"Where's Eve?" she asked, her tone more demanding than she'd meant.

"At the store, did something else happen? Is Shane?"

"It's not that, I was thinking about what you'd said, I don't remember Eve ever telling me she was in therapy."

He shrugged, but she could tell from the look on his face it was a forced gesture, "she probably didn't think it was a big deal, seeing as almost everyone took part in it, and she's so used to going now…"

Claire furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, alarm bells starting to ring, "she's still going? Michael what therapy? What's going on?"

"You know, the workplace scheme, it was first launched years ago," he said very carefully, his whole body had tensed like he'd realised he's made a mistake, but now that he'd started talking, he just couldn't stop, "it was compulsory for all those working in the same place as a vampire. It was supposed to be a way for both sides to air their views so everyone could get along better."

"But Shane and I never had any therapy."

"You were still in school, and Shane didn't get that job in construction until months later."

"And you?"

"Why would I need it, I've been both remember?"

"So she and what… most of the town, went to some therapy sessions and then what, became ambassadors of peace?"

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple practically dancing, "something like that."

"Michael!" she snapped, "are you forgetting who you're talking to? What we've been through together?"

He sank suddenly, landing hard on the bottom step, "she doesn't remember," he whispered.

"Eve? What she doesn't remember going to therapy?"

"No, I mean she doesn't remember the vampires, she thinks they're all human, she doesn't remember me, us, what happened."

"Michael, that can't be right, she must…"

"She remembers events, things that happened, but it's like the details are clouded. Instead of remembering being chased by vampires at night, she remembers wild dogs, talks of the coyotes that once rampaged the town, how you and Myrnin had once gotten caught in the old mall surrounded by them. She doesn't remember Brandon, none of it!"

"And you didn't think you should perhaps mention this!" she screamed.

"Look, Eve was happy, Eve is happy. She's still the same Eve, only lighter without all that bad. I was pleased, happy for her, why would I mess with that?"

"Because it's not right Michael! Messing with people's memories! Can't you see, it's just another way for them to control us! This isn't peace! It's rearing cattle!"

Claire locked up and join Alyse in the car. Ten years of peace and she still hurried to get into her car at night. Some habits just stayed with you.

"Got everything?"

"Yep!" Alyse answered cheerfully.

"What are you smiling at?" Claire asked, eying her daughter carefully.

"It's just good to get some normalcy back. You're going back to work, I'm going to a sleepover at the Glass house," she sighed, "I love that house."

"Me too," said Claire, her mind drifting back to many happy memories.

"It's like it gives you a hug when you enter."

"I know exactly what you mean. Has Miranda been round there lately?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"No reason, but if she does pop up, tell her I was asking after her."

"Ok mom, I will."

Claire honked the horn and Eve came bounding out of the Glass house. Her hair was up in pig tails which swung back and forth as she skipped down the drive toward them. Claire watched her with a frown on her face. How could she move so carefree? Claire had seen her run like her life depended on it, too and from that house, yet here she was, without a care in the world. Claire wanted to scream at her to get back inside, to ask her if she realised it was dark.

"See you after school." Alyse kissed her cheek and jumped out of the car. Claire watched her run into Eve's open arms. Watched Eve, as she patted her daughter's hair affectionately.

Claire tensed, her lungs gasped ready to scream, as the car door opened and in a blur of movement too fast for her eyes to completely follow, Myrnin sat in the passenger seat.

"Myrnin," she breathed, annoyance taking the place of fear in her tone.

"You should never be afraid to scream Claire." She raised her eyebrows at him in disdain. He smiled, amused by her look, "you misunderstand, screaming is good for the soul. It gives the spirit a much needed release."

"I've never heard you speak of the soul before. I didn't think you believed in…"

"My father used to scream…" he said cutting her off as if she hadn't spoken, "… when my mother would take me to see him, he'd either be screaming his lungs out, or whimpering in the corner of his cell. I didn't understand the virtue in it at the time, but I do now. Screaming is an important and necessary function. One could go quite mad without it. Now, come along, be a good sport."

"You want me to scream?" Every part of her told her that this was a bad idea. Myrnin, for all his good points, for his sweet and gentle nature that she had seen over the years, was still a vampire. He was the trap door spider, one that had thrived off screams, fear and terror. Screaming would portray herself as his prey, not his equal.

"I am asking you, to scream, for you Claire, not for me," he said in a tone that not only told her that he understood her hesitations, but that he was saddened to realise that she thought of him that way.

Without further pause, Claire threw her head back and screamed. She screamed for all the times she'd wanted to before but had been too afraid. She screamed out of pure frustration that nothing made sense anymore. She screamed because she knew there was something going on Morganville, and she screamed because she hadn't noticed that Eve, had completely changed, right under her nose, and she had no idea.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Alyssa yanked the car door open, "Mom! Are you alright? What is it?" Claire turned surprised, Alyssa's eyes had widened with shock, her heart shaped face had turned pale. "Yes, yes of course darling, Myrnin was just helping me with…"

"An ancient centering exercise, very good for healing the soul."

"Yes," Claire said, grateful for his help, "I'm sorry I frightened you, I should have waited until you were inside before we'd started."

Alyssa looked momentarily doubtful, her left eyebrow cocked in suspicion, just as her father's used to. "Come on Alyssa! We're going to order pizza!" Called Eve from where she had remained on the driveway.

"Off you go sweetheart, have a good evening," Claire smiled broadly at her, forced herself to look relaxed, right up until Alyssa's back was turned, then she focused in on Eve. Eve who hadn't even blinked when Claire had started screaming, screaming whilst a vampire sat in the passenger seat next to her; she hadn't even made a move toward her. Claire gripped the steering wheel hard enough that her palms went white and her blisters screamed for her to stop. She gritted her teeth and stared at a stranger, watched as she wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders and led her away.

"Would you rather close your eyes again?" Myrnin asked softly.

"No, no I would not!" she said through gritted teeth. Claire started the car, waited until they were out of view before pulling over and shutting off the engine.

"Oooh are we parking now?" he teased.

"How did I not see it?"

"You weren't looking," he said simply.

"No Myrnin, I mean it, how did I miss a whole town being brainwashed into thinking Vampires weren't real? Into forgetting their past?"

"Because," he said very slowly, "you weren't looking. The best attacks are often the ones you don't even see, until it is far too late."

"And that's what this is?"

"Absolutely, the 'brainwashing' as you call it, has gone on for almost a decade, there is no way to undo it, they will never get their memories back. They won't see the truth that's right in front of them, because it just isn't there anymore."

"Myrnin, I don't understand!" she wanted to wail, to cry and beat her palms against the steering wheel, to complain that it just wasn't fair, that she needed Shane.

"I know I cannot stop you, but be careful with this one Claire, you cannot force people to remember something that has been removed from their minds. It is… unpleasant to be accused of being… deranged." Claire gawked at him, she remembered the first time she'd met him, that feeling that he wasn't all there. Remembered how it had felt to see him break down and cry, only to try and kill her a moment later. There was no accusing him of being deranged, at the time, he was completely out of his mind. But she understood what he was telling her, that in this case, it would not be the vampires she had to fear. Claire nodded and started the car.

She couldn't focus in class, couldn't let anything else in. She had to think, had to cast her mind back to all the times she'd seen or heard something that had struck her as odd, but she'd shook it off, ignored it. She started with Eve - how long had she been happy for - years, but then, she had reason to be happy, her husband had been cured of vampirism, a whole world of opportunities had opened for them, they'd been accepted back into the community overnight. Eve hadn't mentioned Brandon in years, but then why would she? Is wasn't as if he was still around, there wasn't a constant reminder of him everywhere she looked, and she had never been overly forthcoming to talk about him when he had been on her mind. Yet Eve had referred to vampires recently. Clare distinctly remembered Eve sat on the edge of her bed, asking her if she thought the vamps had anything to do with it. The question popped in her mind like a light bulb above it, if Eve didn't remember the Vampires, if she really didn't remember her past, they just who did she think the Vamps were?

She thought of Michael, of his increasing distance over the years. He had remained an important part of their lives but his role had changed, he no longer stood forth as their leader, their protector, he had moved himself to the background, like a picture on the wall. He knew what was happening and he'd remained silent. Claire rubbed her temples, a headache starting to take hold, no wonder Michael had changed, he'd been lying to them for years.

"May I drive you home, my lady?" Myrnin said, linking her arm through his as they walked the short trek to the university parking lot.

"Myrnin, do you remember the last time I let you drive me anywhere?" she said, trying but failing not to sigh.

He drew her to a stop, his black eyes wild as he search his memory. Claire had once been under the impression that vampires had perfect recall, she had since learned, thanks to Myrnin, that they did not, and even those with good memories, were only that, good not perfect. It had been a discovery that had deeply disappointed her, the things they could learn, be capable of if they could remember it all. She supposed it was a good thing in a way, natures little leash to stop them from having too much power, for what was knowledge if not power.

"Ah yes, the town square. But that was years ago, I have greatly improved."

Claire gawked at him for the second time that evening, for him to even imply that he was not brilliant at something was almost unheard of. It occurred to her that he might just be serious, that he may have actually meant his proposal. "Tell me Myrnin, what happens in a few centuries when you tire of me? Or your latest invention requires a fresh brain?"

"That was a one time thing, and I assure you my lady, I was subjugated to an illness that left me not quite myself, an illness, that thanks greatly to you, I am now free of. You could never bore me Claire, you push me to do better, to be better, you inspire me, not bore."

"And what happens when she returns?" He flinched, ever so slightly, if she had not been prepared, expecting, looking for it, she was sure she would have missed it, but there it was, that silent movement that spoke volumes.

"Lady Gray would be a welcomed guest in our home, I am sure she would not be surprised to see us united."

"United? You make it sound like we've become allies in a time of war! And tell me you're not calling that shack of your's a home!"

"There is nothing wrong with my dwelling…"

"A damp underground pit at the end of a dark alley, where you keep hundreds of insects you've actually taken the time to name? That home?"

He closes his mouth with a snap, his dark eyes look past her, like he's too angry to look at her, until they suddenly glaze over and he smiles, "we're having our first fight!"

"Myrnin! This is not our first fight!" she yells, unable to stop the rising angry within her.

"It is since our betrothal."

"We are not…" she began shaking with fury, but his cold hands gripped her shoulders and squeezed until she fell silent. "Your eyes are closed again, my lady," he whispered, instantly turning her anger to confusion. He released her, the swiftness of his movements making her stumble, the graveled path shuffling as she corrected herself. "I trust we shall start drawing up the guest list at our next meeting, good night, my lady." He vanished before she could even squeak in protest.


	7. Chapter 7

"Claire, this is… is everything alright?" asked chief Moses, seeing the look on her face.

"May I have a word, in private?" she added, her eyes darting to and fro.

"Of course, come on back to my office."

Claire hurried down the corridor after her. She'd spent most of the night thinking about what she had learned, writing down all of the little things in case they were important. She'd woken slumped over her dinning room table, dozens of post-it notes strewn around her, and more importantly a tree. She'd drawn together a family tree, but filled with the people who'd had the most dealings with the Vamps; the ones she considered to have too many memories to wipe. Knowing about Michael and Eve, then placed Hannah Moses at the top of her tree. She'd seen it all over the years, fought both with, and against, the vampires time and time again, there was no way she would have forgotten it all, forgotten Richard Morrell - her only love, killed fighting for the town.

"What is it?" Hannah asked, once seated behind her desk.

"You said that Monica came in here ranting that Shane had been turned into a Vampire."

"Claire, please don't trouble yourself thinking about this, Monica was charged with damage to private property and spent a night in the cells for drunken behavior. It's no excuse for what she did, but you know what she's like."

"Yes, but I was more interested in why you dismissed her claims so quickly?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why did you dismiss the idea that he may have been turned into a vampire?"

Her eyes took on a quizzical look that made Claire's heart sink, "because vampires can't be made, Claire you know this," she urged, "vampires are born, it's a genetic condition that makes them allergic to sunlight and unable to produce red blood cells, it's why we all donate blood. We're a community, we stick together, take care of each other. Claire, are you feeling alright? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine, really, it's just, it's been hard, without Shane," she said quietly.

"I understand, I know what it's like to loose people. Sometimes I still think I can hear his footsteps coming across the hall, or I'll catch a whiff of his aftershave and it's like I'm momentarily transported back to that day." A dark look crossed her face, "which is silly as I wasn't even there when Richard was shot."

Claire gripped the sides of the plastic chair she sat in like her life depended on it, Hannah was there the day Richard had been killed. Claire could remember it like it was yesterday.

/

Claire drove through the streets of Morganville with no real destination in mind. She had tried another four people on her tree and found the same mental block that she had in Hannah. Leaving her tired and deflate. She had no idea why some people couldn't remember whilst others - Michael and Monica - could.

She drove leisurely down streets she had once ran along, as if her life had depended on it - it had at the time. She passed the thrift store she had done most of her shopping in until the Mall had been rebuilt. The vampires had been particularly happy about the Mall being re-opened - for fear that it would attract too many tourists - but it was pushed through as part of the towns redevelopment program. It was small though, so as to reassure the Vampires that Morganville would not become a town people would actually want to visit. Claire drove past Common Ground, a mixture of good and bad memories flooded her, but that was Morganville all over, there were no exclusively good memories. She stopped outside of the University. Now a place of happiness for her, her work, her students, colleagues. But once it had been a place of torment, of bruises, of acid burns - the marks now faded white on her back - of running for her life. She watched the smiling faces of the students as they moved around the campus, of young, innocent faces. A couple students from her chem class stopped and waved at her, a look of sadness on their faces. She waved back, forced a smile, breathed a sigh of relief that they would not be hunted. That at least there was some good to the peace treaty. She leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes. Morganville had changed, it had changed to the point where people, as far as she was aware, were safe from vampires, but was the cost too great, were they really free if they had no memory of their pasts? Or could it be, that it really was the only way for Morganville to move forward, the only way to ensure that both sides were safe?

Claire took a deep breath. She had to think about this as a scientist; formula A: curbed the angry and aggression of the humans by altering their memories, which, after ten years, she supposed had proven to be an effective method of ensuring peace. But it wasn't just the humans who had changed; there had been no vampire attacks for a decade. Claire knew vampires were predatory creatures who thrived off of the hunt, that there were a few exceptions to this, that some, many of them, were able to resist their natural urges. But how did Amelie ensure that all of them did, and over such a long period of time? Claire didn't have enough information, she didn't know all of the facts.


	8. Chapter 8

"Umm, Mom, Myrnin is at the door!" called Alyssa, her voice full of uncertainty.

"It's alright sweetheart, you can let him in!" she called back from the kitchen.

Alyssa stood back, her hand waving him in. "Actually my dear, I do require you say the words."

"Oh, right, come in."

Myrnin breezed in, a bundle of wild flowers clasped in his hand, the roots hanging loosely, trailing soil over the oak flooring. "Flowers my lady," he said, bowing low to the ground as Claire, entered carrying three plates loaded with pasta.

She shook her head, hardly surprised by the state of the flowers and laid the plates at the table. "I thought it might be nice to have dinner" she said, looking at her daughter.

"Mom, you're not thinking of marrying this guy!

"Alyssa!"

"Dad would be turning over in his grave is he knew about this!" she yelled back, tears shinning in her big brown eyes.

"Actually my dear, the dead don't turn. I've carried out plenty of experiments over the years and not once have I gotten one to turn."

"Please, can we all just sit and eat a nice meal together?"

"Why!"

"Alyssa, we've had Myrnin over for dinner many times before, nothings changed sweetie, he is still my friend."

Alyssa slumped into a chair and stabbed at her spaghetti like it was alive.

"So Myrnin," began Claire, once the tension had started to dissipate, "I went for a drive earlier and passed by your… dwelling, I remembered the first time we'd met, how you were… intense back then."

"Ah the good old days, you were much prettier then, although I must admit you look better now you've gained a few pounds." Alyssa gasped, her eyes wide as she awaited her mother's reply. "You were far too skinny."

"Well, we don't all have the gift of eternal good looks."

"Believe me, my lady, not all of us have even that! I am a one of a kind!"

"Yes, indeed, tell me, Myrnin, do you recall how it was I got this scar?" Claire asked, trailing her fingers over the patch of raised white flesh on her neck."

"The mind is an interested place, one might call it a palace. It is where we keep our most precious of things, our memories. There have been many times where I became lost, cast out from my palace, and once you, my dear sweet Claire, helped me back to it, I swore I would never again loose it. Never." He met her eyes square on, a darkness and determination in them that she hadn't seen in a long time. "You ask the right questions, but of the wrong people." He stood with a flourish worthy of a nineteenth century gentlemen and bowed, "forgive me ladies, but I do believe I have forgotten to feed Bob number 3."

"Myrnin wait," Claire said rising from the table and stepping toward him, "can you for once just be straight with me? Are the vampires affected too?"

"Straight with you? My dear what would be the fun in that? Besides," he said glancing at Alyssa, "even the walls have ears."

Claire frowned, "What are you talking about? Alyssa wouldn't say anything to anyone."

"No, not anyone, but maybe to our dear Founder."

"Alyssa doesn't have any contact with Amelie."

"Doesn't she?" he said, cocking an eyebrow, "now, if you'll excuse me, Bob 3 awaits!"

"He is the weirdest guy ever, fact!"

Claire turned to face her daughter, the gravity of Myrnin's words crushing down on her, "Alyssa, what is he talking about? Why does he think you've been spending time with the Founder?"

"I don't know, the guys a total…"

"Don't lie to me!"

"It's nothing, she just helps me sometimes."

"Helps you! What is she helping you with! When does this happen!"

"Homework and stuff, she's just really easy to talk to, about things… about Dad."

Claire deflated, her anger turning sharply to hurt, "you could talk to me about Dad," she said softly.

Alyssa shook her head, "it's not the same. I hear you at night Mom, crying when you think I'm asleep, I can't talk to you."

"When have you been seeing her? Is it at school?"

"No, at Auntie Eve's and Uncle Michael's house, she comes over when I stay there."

"She… do they know about this?" The image of Amelie sat on the plush velvet couch in the hidden room, looking every bit the queen she was spring to mind.

"Of course Mom, Amelie comes for dinner."

Claire dropped into her chair, the cushion deflating harshly. Engulfed with the overwhelming urge to smack Michael in the mouth for being so stupid. Eve had been brainwashed, Eve she could forgive, but Michael, Michael should know better. He should have kept her away from Amelie, he should have protected her, or at the very least, he should have told Claire. If Shane were still alive, Claire felt certain that he'd already be on his way over there, the shot gun cocked and loaded with rock salt.


	9. Chapter 9

Claire walked into Amelie's office with a fury that could start a blaze in the middle of a down pour. She past Amelie's secretary without hesitation, ignored her attempts to call her to stop, right up until she place a firm hand on her shoulder. Claire felt the ice cold fingers dig into her skin, squeeze bone until it threatened to snap. Claire spun toward the Vampire that held her and rammed the silver stake that slide out of her sleeve into her chest cavity. The Vampire's dead gray eyes widen momentarily, before she slumped lifeless to the plush red carpet.

"Little Claire, this is a surprise, and I am not often surprised."

Claire felt the anger of her gray eyes fall upon her, felt the weight of them as they pinned her in place. "What do you want from me!" Claire demanded, focusing on her emotions, letting her anger burn through Amelie's glare and give her the strength to take another step toward her.

A look of shock rippled across Amelie's face, but it was goes before Claire had the chance to feel triumphant. "Excuse me? I'm afraid I do not follow."

"Don't play with me!"

Amelie's eyes darkened, "and why not, you after all, are nothing but a toy to me, a source of amusement, one I am growing tired of. For your own sake, leave now and we shall forget this… unpleasantness," she said, looking past Claire to her lifeless assistant, messing up her new carpet.

"If I have ever meant anything to you, tell me what you're doing, why!"

Amelie fell silent for a moment, studied her with her unnatural gray eyes. "How is it that one as smart as yourself is so blinded by emotion?" Claire said nothing, just waited, trembling with anger and hurt. "I suppose it is time we had a conversation. I have been generous with you Claire, perhaps too generous, perhaps if I had been harder on you, we would not be in the situation now."

"Generous!" Claire spat with word like it was poison.

"I gave you ten years. Ten years in which you could have been killed at any moment. Human life is so fleeting so easily extinguished, I risked loosing my investment on a daily basis, yet I did it, for you."

"Amelie, I don't understand."

"Did you really think, I would let you die, let you grow old and leave this earth? You belong to me Claire, and it is time you excepted it, embraced it."

"So what, Shane dies and you decide that's it, times up?" Amelie's lip twitched, a movement so small that if Claire hadn't known her so well, hadn't learned her tells over the years, she would have missed it. "You killed Shane." Claire sank into one of the red plush chairs opposite Amelie, the truth of her realisation resonated through her. "You shouldn't have done it, I'll never leave Alyssa alone, I'll never join you. You may think that you can just lock me up, torture and starve me until I submit, but I'll never submit, I'll never forgive you and I will never forget this."

"I know that, come," she said standing with the air and grace of a queen. Claire stood and followed her through the door at the back of her office. Amelie lead her through a dark, windowless corridor that stretched on for what felt like miles. It might have been miles, knowing the technology they possessed to create doorways through space, that for all of Claire's rationalising, just should not be in existence. Lights started to flicker ahead, letting Claire know that the end was in sight.

Claire's hands trembled inspite of herself. For all her talk, her determination, she was still terrified. Amelie stopped in front of the only door in the entire corridor. She made no move for the handle so Claire, after taking a steadying breath grasped it and pushed. The door swung open with ease, and bright white light flooded her vision temporarily blinding her. Sound came to her first, the unmistakable beeping of a heart rate monitor. She stepped inside, her nose instantly assaulted by antiseptic, but she ignored it, ignored the sterile room that told her they were now in a hospital, ignored her mind as it registered that it was dark outside, when it was the middle of the day, so she ignored her brain as it started to flip through a map searching for where they could possibly be. She ignored it all, and dived to the still figure laying peacefully in the bed in front of her.

A large bandage was tapped to his chest, a thin tell tale line of pink had risen from underneath it, but his chest rose and fell as if he was merely sleeping. His eyes were slightly off colour from brusing halfway healed. "Can he hear me?" she choked.

"It is doubtful, he is highly medicated."

"What happened?"

"You know what happened, Shane was in an accident."

"You mean, it was real, he really was hit by that drunk driver?"

"Yes, although, as you can see, he did not die."

"Why?"

"Keep up little Claire, it does injury my patience when you ask such foolish questions."

"I mean, why didn't you just tell me? I came to you, I asked you!"

"You asked me if I had anything to do with his death, as you can quite clearly see, I did not."

Claire brushed the wisps of long brown hair from his face - a gesture she did not think she would ever get to do again. "What happens now?"

"That, is up to you. You can agree to the turn and Shane will be re-united with Alyssa, they will go on to have happy mortal lives."

"Or you'll kill him."

"Or I'll kill him."

Tears swelled up and spilled over her cheeks. She didn't care that it made her look weak, that it transported her back to being the sixteen year old girl that used to cry all the time. She let her tears come, fall onto the only man she had ever loved, the one person she would hand her life over for. "I will need time to make arrangements."

"Claire, you're not dying, you'll be living forever."

"I will see my husband home with my daughter!" she said through gritted teeth, "and I will be explaining to them why I will be vanishing from their lives."

"I am not devoid of emotions Claire. I am not demanding that you give up your family, you are permitted to remain with them for their entire lives if you so desire, but you shall be a vampire, you shall work for, and answer to, me."

Claire turned to Amelie, her mouth parted in surprise, put like that, it didn't sound so bad. Although she had no doubt it would not be easy, that Shane would be angry for a long, long time, they would be together.

"We do this now, before Shane is returned to Morganville."

"Wait, I have one more condition."

An amused look flickered across her face, "go on."

"You swear to me, I want your word, you will never harm, either by your own hand or through the means of another, any member of my family. You shall never make any claim to any of my current or future generations and you will prevent any others from trying to do so. My family will be free."

"Now there's the smart girl I've gone to so much trouble for. Agreed, you have my word."


	10. Chapter 10

Amelie walked slowly back to her office. Her legs felt leaden, her mind fuzzy with tiredness. She longed for sleep but knew it would have to wait. She pulled open the steal door feeling as weak as a human.

"Back so soon?" She would have glared at him had she the energy to. "I take it all went as expected?"

"Yes, indeed. Claire is one of us, she hates us, now more than ever, but you have gotten your wish."

"Almost," he said, his eyes glistening with anticipation. "And she believed you?"

Amelie sank slowly into her soft leather chair, "of course she did," she frowned, "even I almost believed me."

"Perhaps, old friend, it is because you wanted it too. Admit it, it pained you to watch her grow old, to know that she would soon die. Mortal life is so fleeting, and one as gifted as her should not be subjected to its coil."

"I will admit that there is a part of me that is relieved it is done. I have grown fond of her over the years, I believe she would have once called me friend."

"And she will again!" he said, with determination.

"No, Myrnin, she won't ever think of me as a friend. She did not want this life, this was not her choice."

"You gave her a choice, did you not?"

"That was no choice! Do not play coy with me! She will never forgive me for my part in this!"

"Time heals many wounds, we both know this to be true."

"We both know, it is not."

Myrnin thought for a moment, the excitement in his dark eyes waining, "I'll bring her round, I'll make her see that you did it for her."

"But I did not, I did it, for you, because you forced my hand."

"I can take the memory away if you wish," he offered, a sad smile on his lips.

"You would dare use that contraption on me!" she growled, her gray eyes fierce despite her tiredness.

"It was just a suggestion. And that contraption has given you the peace you so desperately wanted."

Amelie smiled, "it has indeed, although I fear it shall be our undoing."

"Nonsense! I am in complete control of who and what is taken from their minds."

Amelie shook her head, "Claire."

"I have leverage, so long as the boy lives, she will drop it, you shall make sure she does."

"And when the boy does die?" she asked knowing the answer.

"The daughter, granddaughter, there will always be someone she cares enough about to be controlled."

"Why not just take her memories, alter her mind like you have done to so many in this town."

"I would never risk her mind like that!"

Amelie threw her head back and laughed, she laughed until pain ripped down her sides like they were being pulled apart.

"I can't remember the last time you ever laughed like that."

"I don't laugh nearly as much as I ought to. Oh Myrnin, you foolish foolish boy, you've destroyed your only chance at happiness. It doesn't matter if you take away my memories, or everyone else's, she will find out what you have done, and she will never forgive you for it."

Myrnin shook his head, "she won't, I'll burn this town to the ground before I let that happen."

Amelie shrugged, "perhaps I'll do it for you, old friend."

"Keep your word, and I shall keep mine."

"You won't alter anyone's memories without my permission, you shall return to your research and answer solely to me," Amelie said, a flicker of power behind her words.

"I swear it, and you'll never tell her it was me."

"I swear Myrnin, so long as you keep your word Claire will never hear that you were the one to betray her."

He flinched like her words smarted, nodded and left her. Amelie waited until the outer door closed, until she heard the elevator doors open and close at the end of the hall, before allowing her body to slip out of her chair and collapse like a rag doll to the floor. She knew before her eyes started to close, that Claire would be the last Vampire she ever made, that she would no longer posses the strength needed to make more. It saddened her greatly that her last child would hate her for all eternity.

THE END - Please take a moment to comment as to style, plot, storyline and tone/voice. Your comments, negative or positive, would be greatly appreciated.


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